Lux’s command was simple.

“Take her out!”

Ellen struck first. She roared, swinging her greatsword as she charged at Nierlis. Frenzied blade winds tore the basement apart—

“Insect Mimicry: Compound Eyes.”

Nierlis slightly tilted her head at the perfect moment, dodging effortlessly. Her left eyeball split into two, then four, then eight… in an instant, a single orb transformed into countless tiny lenses clustered together—just like an insect’s compound eye!

Not all Insect Magic involved beast taming. Classified differently, it spanned other categories.

Insect Mimicry belonged to bodily transformation.

“Some insects have motion vision far beyond your imagination…”

She bent low, narrowly avoiding the greatsword slicing overhead. By then, Chloe had finished weaving her spell.

*Boom! Boom-boom-boom-boom!!!*

Dozens of fire missiles shot toward her. Nierlis merely whispered, “Cocoon Space.” A shield like a silkworm’s cocoon wall blocked every blast—not a single scorch mark remained!

*ROOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!*

Ellen pivoted sharply. Immense mana coalesced on her blade, forming a silver sword-edge meters long! She charged again, the colossal silver blade about to cleave down—

“Molten Metal Beetle.”

*CLANG!!!!!!*

A dark-gold flash slashed through the air—blindingly fast! Ellen froze. Her greatsword clattered to the floor. Her arms and legs lay severed, crimson blood spraying everywhere!

*(In an instant… she shattered a high-rank Mystic Warrior’s Mystic Armor and flesh!? Damn—)*

The dark-gold light hovered midair. A bizarre flying insect—dark-gold carapace, razor-sharp wings glinting coldly—had felled Ellen in one strike!

“CHLOE!!!!”

Chloe wordlessly raised her hand. Frost and flames erupted simultaneously, vaporizing the basement ceiling into ash. Above lay the hall; through its collapsed roof, the night sky was visible. Two halos—one blue, one red—danced in the darkness: twin dragons woven from ice and fire!

Chloe’s finger dropped, pointing straight at Nierlis. The ice-fire dragons roared, diving toward her—

*CLANG!!!*

The Molten Metal Beetle vanished. A dark-gold flicker midair—and both dragons disintegrated into swirling mana particles, gone!

“Too slow… That child’s already dug beneath your feet.”

*Crash!* The ground under Chloe collapsed. A giant earthworm—black, glossy, thick as a pipe—surged up. Its complex mouthparts bloomed like a sunflower, swallowing Chloe whole! From collapse to retreat, less than a second passed. Only a bottomless pit remained. Chloe had vanished with the worm.

The brief battle ended.

Ellen lay limbless. Chloe was gone down a worm’s throat.

This wasn’t combat. It was slaughter.

Lux stood frozen, jaw slack.

To him, Ellen and Chloe were the strongest here—unbeatable.

But this girl’s absurd, overwhelming power shattered his worldview.

*Crushing high-rank Sorcerers and Mystic Warriors like toys?!*

What tier was she?

A Grand Mage one step from Sorcerer rank?

Or… a true Sorcerer?

But—how? Sorcerers towered above mortals, treasured by nobles and royalty. Why hide in this tiny manor? Arlen Kingdom’s two court Sorcerers—both over sixty—were this small nation’s peak strength! Even in great empires, no Sorcerer existed under twenty, barring geniuses! And Nierlis had no proper teacher. How could she—

“Don’t stand there stunned. Let’s go.”

“G-go?”

“Yes. We still need those hearts you worked so hard to collect.”

Nierlis gently took Lux’s hand, a faint smile on her lips.

In that moment, Lux felt he wasn’t facing a seventeen-year-old girl—but something utterly inhuman.

Like an insect.

—

“How strong *are* you… Nierlis!”

Lux roared in frustration. I merely shrugged. Strength couldn’t be measured precisely—I had no answer.

“I don’t understand… don’t understand! Killing high-rank Sorcerers and Mystic Warriors like squashing bugs… You’re strong. Ridiculously strong. You hid this power all along!”

“Don’t insult ‘bugs’—small but tenacious creatures… And you overestimate me.”

“Spare me! I don’t get it… Why all these schemes? You’re strong, right? Slaughtering elites is child’s play, right? Then why not just wipe out the Zerah, Zane, and Flion families? Kill every witness, seize the hearts, break the seal! Wouldn’t that be efficient?”

“Then let me ask you…”

I turned serious.

“Born human, gifted humanity’s greatest power—‘wisdom’—why resort to beastly violence?”

“—!?”

He froze, struggling to grasp my meaning.

Violence *was* efficient. True.

But humans possessed something far greater. That’s what separated us from beasts.

I didn’t oppose violence. But in my view, it ranked last in priority.

Use your mind before your hands.

With time to spare, wait patiently instead of acting rashly.

Only recently had I finished preparations for my journey. Until *that child* matured, I had to stay here. Rushing was pointless. Letting Lux’s group slowly execute their plan—to open the door to the Great Secret Treasure—was simplest.

A good result justified all.

…

…

…………

“So… I think I get it. You found that booklet first, then deliberately let Liliana have it, right?”

“Yes.”

“My goal. My preparations. My plans… You knew them all along?”

“More or less.”

“According to plan, the Shadow Attendants’ corpses, Anhans’s corpse—they should’ve been dissolved by acid I bought on the black market. But they’re intact… Ellen was supposed to kill herself after her mission. Yet she lived… All your doing?”

“Yes.”

“You can neutralize acid with insects? And free mind-controlled people?”

“Roughly.”

“But you watched coldly. Pretended ignorance. Let them die one by one without lifting a finger?”

“Like you, I prefer fewer survivors. The Great Secret Treasure is at stake.”

“Nia, Ellen, Chloe—they’re dead? And you got the Great Secret Treasure? What did you turn it into?”

“Those two questions… share one answer.”

I flipped a mental switch. The long lock of hair hanging down my back lengthened further. Using it as a conduit, I opened a small gate to the otherworldly space—the “Insect Chamber”—where I’d reshaped the Great Secret Treasure. Two long tentacles emerged, unspooling Ellen and Chloe.

“—!!!”

Lux turned deathly pale, gagging. As expected, this sight overwhelmed most humans. I swiftly retracted them.

“Ellen and Chloe… what did you *do* to them?”

“Can’t you see? After breaking their control, they’d have ended up brain-dead anyway. Better to repurpose them. Removed most of their brain tissue, kept only what’s needed for basic life functions. Made them living incubators. Now, newly hatched female Blood Mosquito larvae share their nutrients beneath the skin. Best not disturb them.”

“… And Nia?”

“I happened to meet him in the corridor. Killed him on the spot—fed him to the insects. His weak constitution made him useless as an incubator.”

“…”

Lux bowed his head deeply. All color had drained from his face.

“So… is this my fate too? Becoming a living incubator? Or straight to the insects?”

“No.”

“Then why tell me everything?! Kill me after getting the Great Secret Treasure! Why deny me a quick death, you inhuman monster?!”

“Er… Biologically, I’m fully human. Not a monster. As for humanity… well, you’re right. I likely lack it.”

Humanity?

How to define that word?

If “humanity” meant typical human thought patterns…

Inside, I was probably an insect mistakenly born into a human womb.

“But don’t despair, Lux. I kept you alive and explained everything for a reason. Rest assured—I’ll set you free. Just remember my conditions.”

“C-conditions?”

“Yes.”

So I laid out my demands.

First:

Never tell anyone I’m still alive.

Second:

Spread far and wide—through every channel—that the Zerah Family once possessed the Great Secret Treasure… and has now lost it.

“The insect inside you will stay forever. Fail my demands, and it’ll devour your brain. Be careful… Farewell.”

I gave final instructions, untied his ropes, and turned to leave.

Everything was done.

Everything was said.

Time to unfold my grand plan.

“Wait!”

A voice called from far behind. I stopped, signaling him to speak quickly.

“One last question… Why do all this? For the Great Secret Treasure? To keep it or sell it?”

“The Great Secret Treasure isn’t the goal. Just a tool.”

“A tool…”

“… This is only the beginning.”

“The beginning?”

“Yes. Because—”

I have a fate to defy.

The cocoon has shattered.

The insect has spread its wings.

—

One use for a pretty face: hitchhiking.

I sat on the rear edge of a carriage, brushing dust from my skirt. Careful not to soil my favorite stockings.

The lavish manor where I’d lived seventeen years vanished behind me. Sadly, I felt no “sadness” or “loss”—my heart remained utterly still.

The Great Secret Treasure was lost. The noble Zerah Family nearly exterminated. This news—especially the lost treasure—would soon ripple across the nation… no, across nations, even continents.

From now on, I journey alone.

But I hope that next time I leave a place, “alone” becomes “with others.”

I closed my eyes.

The suited woman—who called herself a Demon—still echoed in my ears.

“Nierlis Zerakh.”

“You must have sensed it faintly.”

“Yes.”

“Five years.”

“From now… your remaining life won’t exceed five years.”

“The gate’s opening activated the King of Insects’ remnants within you. They’ve eroded you deeply. Your mother’s death soon after your birth was tied to this.”

“Your time is short.”

“Let’s make a deal. I swear as a Demon—every word I speak is truth. Every vow I make, unbreakable.”

“Forge a contract.”

“I can lift this curse. Grant you a normal lifespan.”

“In return.”

“You must kill that woman for me—”

“The origin of it all—”

“The Border Battlefield’s strongest—”

“Bloodhell’s supreme commander—”

“The Blood Emperor—Yeh!”

...

...

............

"Speaking of which... I wonder how she’s doing now?"

I recalled that girl from my childhood who called me a friend.

Her beautiful light brown long hair, bright eyes of the same hue, and that ever-gentle, warm voice—I still remember them vividly to this day.

"...Our reunion is just a matter of time, Vernie."

Vernie Leibentod.

The newly appointed Holy Maiden of the Pantheon.

I hope she hasn’t grown arrogant with power and status, and still remembers me, her childhood playmate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Symphony Dedicated to the Insect Princess

Volume 1, Cocoon of Slaughter

The End

Next Volume: City of Sorcery